Joachim Yhombi-Opango, politician
Jacques Joachim Yhombi-Opango, a Congolese politician, died on 30 March 2020 after suffering from Covid-19.
He was an army officer who became Congo-Brazzaville's first general and served as Head of State of the People's Republic of the Congo from 1977 to 1979. He was the President of the Rally for Democracy and Development (RDD), a political party, and served as Prime Minister from 1993 to 1996. He was in exile from 1997 to 2007.
Yhombi-Opango was born on 12 January 1939 in Fort Rousset (now Owando) in Cuvette Region, in the north of the Congo. He married Marie-Noëlle Ngollo, with whom he had several children.
Under President Marien Ngouabi, Yhombi-Opango was Army Chief of Staff (with the rank of major); he was suspended from that position on 30 July 1970, but subs...